10 Must-Know Startup Commands for Older Macs

A variety of keyboard shortcuts and commands can be used during a Mac system startup to access various features, systems administration utilities, and troubleshooting tricks. Some of these startup keys may be slightly different on PPC and Intel Macs, but many of the features remain the same, whether it’s accessing safe-boot mode, hardware tests, single-user mode, boot from a DVD, or more.

Check the list below for ten absolute essential startup commands that every Mac user should know, particularly for that older hardware!

These boot commands come directly from Apple, and they’re sure to work on any older Mac model. There are some universal commands, like the Option boot loader menu, which will change out the startup disk on system boot.Again, keep in mind there is some difference between a Power PC Macintosh and an Intel based Macintosh, and of course, the Mac hardware will matter for these as well. If a Mac does not have Firewire, booting from that would not work, that’s perhaps obvious but for some users who are not familiar with the port terminology, it can be a real confusion as they try to boot from a drive with the wrong key, thus, be sure you attempt to boot from the proper drive and proper protocol!

3 Comments

Thanks for the key commands! I recently switched to a mac and I appreciate any tips that assist in a smoother transition. By the way, I have no intentions of going back to my pc, I should have switched years ago! Keep up the great work here!

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